Harry Turtledove's THE GREAT WAR by: C. Reed, aka The Art of War (at the CivFanatics Center) I- SOME BACKGROUND ON AN ALTERNATE HISTORY The history that Harry Turtledove has weaved with his "Great War" series, and the prequel book, "How Few Remain," tell of how the Confederate States of America won the Civil War in 1862. A- In 1862, General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of North Virginia, sent his battle plans for the invasion of the USA by way of cigars, ie, he wrapped the plans around cigars, and sent a runner with them to his armies. In real history, the runner lost the cigars, and the US Army found them, allowing the US to know Lee's battle plans, and in effect beat Lee. But, as Turtledove writes, the battle plans weren't lost, so Lee ended up encircling Philadelphia, and the British Empire and Republic of France declared the Confederate States of America legitimate. B- In 1881 the CSA annexed the Mexican provinces of Chihuahua and Sonora, purchasing them from Emperor Maximilian of the Empire of Mexico. President James G. Blaine, the US President, was enraged and again the USA and CSA went to war. The war bogged down in the Confederate city of Louisville, Kentucky, and again, General Stonewall Jackson defeated the North. Many heroes arose through the US anyway, notably General George Armstrong Custer, and a fiery up and comer, Theodore Roosevelt, who helped General Custer push back a Canadian Expeditionary Force invading Montana. C- Politics are very different in Turtledove's 1914. The two main parties in the US Political System are the Democrats and the Socialists, with a small Republican Party still grasping some power. The Socialists' rise began with Abraham Lincoln, the disenfranchised ex-American President. After losing the Civil War, Lincoln served out his term, and the Republican Party took a major beating. Lincoln, now enfused with the Socialist rhetoric, preached the points of Socialism to the poorer working class of America. With the loss of the Second Mexican War (1881), which it is now called, the Republicans lost even more. Their President elect, James Blaine, made foolish decisions, and lost them the war that should never have been won. The only good thing to come from this war was a budding alliance with the now powerful German Reich, which would lead to the Quadruple Alliance of the German Reich, the United States of America, and Austria-Hungary. D- Although many things are different, the First World War started the same as it did in real history. Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed by a Slavic Nationalist. Learning this, Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia, the head of the pan-Slavic movement, which led to France declaring war on Austria-Hungary, which then led to Germany and the United States declaring war on Russia, France, Great Britain, and the Confederate States of America. E- Territories of countries have a noticable difference in the alternate 1914. By August of 1914, the British Empire controls parts of Africa, India, the South Pacific, Australia, and the Sandwich Islands, which we know as Hawaii. Turtldove doesn't tell us when Hawaii joins the Empire, but its safe to say that it joined about the same time America took it over in real history, about 1898 or '99. Japan went to war with Spain instead of America, and now controls the Phillipines, Formosa, Korea, the Marshall Islands, Okinawa, and Samoa. II- UNITS _________________________ A- Russia- Russian Infantry: Russian Infantry is the normal infantry unit, with the exception that this unit has the "All Terrain" feature. Soviet Infantry: Soviet Infantry is very powerful. This gives them the advantage in the Russian Civil War. If you play the Russians, arm yourself well, for the Reds will ravage your troops in no time flat. Russian Cavalry: Old, obsolete, and not too powerful. Go ahead, throw 'em to the machine guns! _________________________ B- Quadruple Entente- French Infantry: The French Infantry will be your main weapon in the first part of the war. The French troops have good defense, and fair offense. British Infantry: The British Infantry has good attack, and fair defense. They will be your main attack infantry unit. Use them well. Australian/ New Zealand Army Corp: The ANZAC will begin appearing in late 1914. They're good, solid troops. You won't have a whole lot, so use them wisely. They make good "recon" units. Canadian Infantry: Canada's defenders. Good defense, but offense is a bit low, to reflect the easy fighting the US Army had in the first few months of the war. Entente Cavalry: Old, obsolete, and not too powerful. Go ahead, throw 'em to the machine guns! Mk I. Tank (only usable after September, 1916): The first armored and tracked vehicle you get. They're fairly expensive, and not just awesome, so don't put too much faith in them. They have the "ignore trenches (city walls)" feature. Mk. IV Tank (only usable after __, 1917): A much better version of tank. More powerful, faster, better armored. Good unit, all the way around. They have the "ignore trenches (city walls)" feature. Nieuport XVII Aeroplane: The Nieuport XVII is a good, solid plane. Not as fast as the Fokker E.III, but a big improvement over the Nieuport II. Avro 504: A good plane, but it will be obsolete as the war speeds up. Airco DH-2: Well armed, but slow. Good for recon, as most of the old planes are. Morane-Saulnier: A plane of very advanced design, it was extremely fast but also difficult to handle. Its high landing speed resulted in a large number of crashes. Although rated high as a fighter plane, it was only given to highly experienced pilots to use over the Western Front. Sopwith Pup: A great aeroplane. Includes an interruptor on it, and is notoriously fast. You receive the tech in late 1916. The Concrete Battleship: A massive for located off of Oahu, by Pearl Harbor. It holds 15 inch shells. It was built by the British to protect Pearl Harbor. It will be extremely hard to destroy. The French '75 Gun: Fast loading and firing 75mm artillery piece. Good against infantry and barrels. __________________________ C- The US and its Allies- US Infantry: The infantry unit for the United States. Almost ubiquitous, even at the beginning. US Marines: Unlike the other sides, the US Marines are a seperate unit. They have a good attack factor and fair defense. The 'Infantry' Unit: The regular 'infantry' unit represents Chilean and Paraguayan Troops. Good defense, poor offense. Curtiss Super Hudson Aeroplane: Slow, put good in a fight. A much better recon unit than fighter. Martin Single-decker: A copy of the German Fokker E.III, it was the first plane to have an interrupter, and is fairly fast, and a good fighter. Wright D2: A copy of the German Albatros D.II. The Barrel: The very first armored/tracked unit on the planet. It has good defense and good offense, but is extremely slow (5 mph top speed). They have the "ignore trenches (city walls)" feature. Alliance Cavalry: Refer to the "Entente Cavalry" unit. Railroad Gun: Massive gun. Can smash a city flat. Zeppelin: A good air unit. Good bombardment value. _________________________ D- Central Powers- German Infantry: Excellent infantry unit. Good defense and offense. Austrian Infantry: Austrian Infantry is better on offense than defense. They fight fiercely. Fokker Dr.I: A good bi-plane, it is the first German plane allowable. Use for recon!!! Fokker E.III: The first plane with interruptor technology. It is fairly fast, and good in a scrap. Albatros D.II: The best plane in the field. Nuff said. The Barrel: The very first armored/tracked unit on the planet. It has good defense and good offense, but is extremely slow (5 mph top speed). They have the "ignore trenches (city walls)" feature. Alliance Cavalry: Refer to the "Entente Cavalry" unit. Railroad Gun: Massive gun. Can smash a city flat. Zeppelin: A good air unit. Good bombardment value. _________________________ E- Italy Italian Infantry: _________________________ F- The Confederate States of America- Confederate Infantry: The stalwart defenders of Confederate freedom! Good in all areas. ;) Three Inch gun: Same as the French '75. Confederate Cavalry: Refer to the "Entente Cavalry" unit. Red Negro: Equal to the Soviet Infantry. Although not as fast, and weaker defense. Mk I. Tank (only usable after October, 1916): The first armored and tracked vehicle you get. They're fairly expensive, and not just awesome, so don't put too much faith in them. They have the "ignore trenches (city walls)" feature. Mk. IV Tank (only usable after __, 1917): A much better version of tank. More powerful, faster, better armored. Good unit, all the way around. They have the "ignore trenches (city walls)" feature. Nieuport XVII Aeroplane: The Nieuport XVII is a good, solid plane. Not as fast as the Fokker E.III, but a big improvement over the Nieuport II. Avro 504: A good plane, but it will be obsolete as the war speeds up. Airco DH-2: Well armed, but slow. Good for recon, as most of the old planes are. Morane-Saulnier: A plane of very advanced design, it was extremely fast but also difficult to handle. Its high landing speed resulted in a large number of crashes. Although rated high as a fighter plane, it was only given to highly experienced pilots to use over the Western Front. Sopwith Pup: A great aeroplane. Includes an interruptor on it, and is notoriously fast. You receive the tech in late 1916. Negro Worker: Fast worker. ________________________ G- Miscellaneous Units- Engineer: Usual settler unit. Ocean Mine: Defense unit in the water. Good to protect harbors with. Homeland Infantry: Normal Infantry unit. Will provide homeland forces for US Allies, Chile and Paraguay, along with Neutral forces. Guerrilla: Normal Partisan unit. Machine Gun: A new weapon of war. Excellent defense. Don't throw troops at them. Armored Car: Good offense, bad defense. Slow. Field Artillery: Normal light artillery unit. Good for use against troops. Eight inch Artillery: Good for bombarding cities. Fighter Scout: Good for recon, slow, lightly armed. Armored Cruiser: Light transport with good defense and fair attack. Battlecruiser: Faster, lighter armored than Battleship. Same attack. Battleship: "The Queen of the Seas" will play a major part in the game. Destroyer: Light anti-sub surface ship. Cruiser: Medium armed attack ship. Dreadnought: Revolutionary ship. First ship with all big guns. Submarine: Invisible to all ships except destroyer. Swift attack. Troop Barge: Massive troop carrying ship. Cheap and effective. Chlorine Gas: Deadly, but won't wipe out troops. Freight: Trade unit. III- Player Tactics Russia- Massacre the German line in front of Warsaw. If you can knock it out, you will have a chance to penetrate deep into German territory. Italy- You have the choice of which side to side with. Even if you want to stay neutral, you will probably be forced into fighting with one side or the other. NOTE: In the book series, Italy sides with the USA and Germany. United States of America & Allies- Take the Confederate cities of Richmond, Louisville, Nashville, Ryan, and Guayamas. Also, you must take the Canadian cities of Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. In the Atlantic Ocean, you must defeat the English to the north and the Confederates to the south. Moving ships down to South America will allow you to cut off England's major food supplier, Argentina. In the Pacific, you must take Pearl Harbor, and this must be done soon, ie, November, 1914 if possible. Quadruple Alliance- Take Paris, Verdun, Brussels using Count Alfred von Schlieffen's plan of taking the cities around Paris, then thrusting from all sides. Defend against the Russians to the east. In the Middle East, you must hold onto Baghdad, Beirut, Jerusalem, and Kuwait. Quadruple Entente- Defend Paris, Brussels, and Verdun. You must also take Jerusalem, Beirut, and Baghdad. In the North Atlantic, defeat the German High Seas Fleet. Around Argentina, prevent the U.S. from cutting off food supplies to England. In the pacific, hook up with Japanese ships, and pound the Americans out of the Ocean. Confederate States- Take Washington D.C., Columbus, St. Louis, and Chicago. You can take the aggressive stance, or the defensive stance. If the aggressor, you probably won't last too long against the massive forces of the United States. You must also defend the Caribbean, and sink U.S. ships in all of the Atlantic. Neutral Alliance- Stay out of this war somehow! IV- Miscellaneous Thanks go to the following people: Dannyevilcat: I slightly modified some of your units. Thanks for everything. Capt Nemo: You make the coolest units. No doubt. Favouredflight Tanelorn Techumseh The ANZAC Mikoyan Jimmywax: The barrel rules Archer007: Thanks for the support lmsw08233